The present invention relates to a so-called one push-type clip having a pin and a bush and able to connect a plurality of workpieces together, such as panels, by pushing the pin into the bush.
There is a well-know type of clip consisting of a pin and a bush in which a hollow bush shank is inserted into mounting holes of two workpieces such as panels to be connected together, a pin shank is inserted into the hollow bush shank, a portion of the bush shank expands, and the workpieces are connected together by the expanded portion of the bush shank and a bush flange. This clip makes it easy to connect workpieces together by simply inserting the bush shank into the mounting holes in the workpieces and pushing in the pin.
This well-known clip is configured so that the pin and bush are temporarily connected by pushing in the pin shank to a temporary connecting position in the bush shank without causing the bush shank to expand. The bush shank is inserted into a mounting hole in a workpiece such as a panel while the pin and bush are temporarily connected. The clip is also configured so that the pin shank is further inserted into the bush shank to expand the bush shank and establish a permanent connection. This type of clip is sold, stored and used with the pin and bush temporarily connected. Because workpieces can be fixed by simply pushing the pin into the bush one time (with one push), this type of clip is commonly known as a one push-type clip.
A door switch bumper for an automobile has been disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 61-66011) that has a main body and a pin inserted into a leg portion of the main body. The leg portion of the main body of the door switch bumper is inserted into a mounting hole in a door panel, and some of the leg portion expands when the pin is pushed in. The main body is thus permanently attached to the door panel by a base of the main body and the expanded leg portion.
A part mounting device has been disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-124022) that consists of a hollow female component (bush) with flexible legs to engage a mounting hole in a workpiece and a male component inserted into the female component to keep the flexible legs from bending inwardly. This part mounting device is configured to provide a temporary connection state by pushing the male component into the female component to a position at which it does not prevent the flexible legs from bending inwardly. The flexible legs of the female component in the temporary connection state are then inserted into the mounting hole of a workpiece such as a panel, and the male component is pushed further into the female component to prevent the flexible legs on the female component from bending inward, thereby connecting the device permanently to the workpiece. The part mounting device in Patent Document 2 constitutes a clip that is sold, stored and used in the temporary connection state.
In the door switch bumper of Patent Document 1, the pin is pushed into the main body to attach the main body to a panel, but because the pin is not temporarily connected to the leg portion of the main body, the two components—pin and main body—have to be assembled on site. This type of clip also has to be carefully managed in inventory so that one of the components is not lost.
Because the attachment device in Patent Document 2 is a one push-type clip in which the pin or male component is temporarily connected to the female component (bush), the pin and bush do not have to be assembled on site, and the clip is easy to manage in inventory without loss of one of the components. A certain number of such clips or part mounting devices are usually wrapped together in a single package for sale, and a user transports and uses them in the temporary connection state. However, the packaged clips can collide with each other as they are held and transported, so that some of the pins can be pushed further into the bushes to the permanent connection state. Such clips cannot be used to mount parts to a workpiece. These clips have to be treated as defective and only used after being returned to the temporary connection state. Because it is not easy to determine on-site which delivered clips are in the permanent connection state, a user can waste time attempting to mount the bushes on these clips in mounting holes in workpieces. The result is reduction in productivity and increased expense.